DIY Tips

If you want to liven up your walls, look no further than a roll or two of wallpaper. Once seen as a little old-fashioned, wallpaper is well and truly back on the style agenda.

Style doesn’t have to mean money though, and there are fantastic wallpaper designs for all budgets - B&Q has lots of inexpensive, but lovely, ones. You can also save money because these days many of us prefer to paper one feature wall rather than opting for wall-to-wall papering.

Wallpaper is always a great way to inject colour, pattern and texture into a room but with a feature wall, you can really go to town on your wallpaper choice without it overpowering the room. It’s generally obvious which wall is most suitable for the feature wall - the wall behind your bed or sofa, for example, or it could be part of a wall, such as an alcove or chimney breast.

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You can create another ‘feature’ with wallpaper is placing it horizontally between a picture rail and coving, between a picture rail and dado rail or, more traditionally, below a dado rail. If you like the idea of breaking up the space visually in this way but don’t have these original features, you can always add them.

Remember wallpaper has more than just a decorative function though. If you don’t want the hassle and cost of replastering, the right wallpaper will improve the appearance of uneven or imperfect walls. Thick wallpapers, especially textured ones, and lining papers are ideal for covering up such imperfections, and many are designed to be painted. Wallpapers with a shiny or reflective surface will highlight lumps and bumps.